Social Care

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will bring forward proposals on the future funding of social care.

Ivan Lewis: Proposals to cover the period 2008-11 will be brought as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review in the autumn. The Government recognise the need to address the longer-term funding issues, too, as identified in last year's pre-Budget report, but the timing has not yet been established.

NHS Staff Morale

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment she has made of staff morale in the NHS.

Rosie Winterton: The Healthcare Commission Annual Staff Survey measures a range of things, which contribute to the level of staff morale such as job satisfaction and work-life balance. The 2006 survey results are being analysed with national health service trade union representatives in the National Social Partnership Forum.

Community Health Services: Manpower

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) consultants and  (b) other medically qualified personnel were practising in the public health medicine and community health services specialties in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Hospital and community health services: medical and dental staff within the public health medicine and community health services group ,  England 
			  N umber (headcount) 
			   A t 30 September each year 
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 
			 All medical and dental staff 5,003 4,796 4,404 4,299 3,782 3,388 3,472 3,533 3,385 3,283 
			 Medical and dental consultant 800 797 804 847 852 779 857 926 927 885 
			 All other medical and dental staff(1) 4,203 3,999 3,600 3,452 2,930 2,609 2,615 2,607 2,458 2,398 
			  Notes: 1. All other medical and dental staff includes qualified clinical staff at the following grades; associate specialist, staff grade, registrar group, senior house officer, house officer, F2, Fl, hospital practitioner, clinical assistant, senior dental officer, dental officer, senior clinical medical officer, clinical medical officer, clinical director, assistant clinical direct, dental clinical director, dental assistant, clinical director, other (medical practitioners doing part-time work), other (salaried dental practitioner)  2. Some trusts and primary care trusts (PCT) have included health visitors, school nurses and other non-medically qualified staff in the public health medicine specialty prior to revised definitions being published by the Information Centre in 2005-06.  Source:  The Information Centre for health and social care medical and dental workforce census. 
		
	
	The Public Health Medicine and Community Health Services Group includes the following specialties:
	Dental public health;
	Public health medicine;
	Community health services dental; and
	Community health services medical.
	There has been an increase in the number of consultants in public health working in the national health service of 85 (10 per cent.) between 1997 and 2006.
	Over the same period the number of other public health staff numbers has decreased by 1,805 (57 per cent.). This is in part due to changes in the way the data is collected and coded. For example, health visitors, district nurses, general practitioners and other professionals, who are not formally coded as public health staff, perform public health tasks. There has been growth in many of these groups. There is also variation from trust to trust in which exact roles are classed as public health. In addition, the definition of the public health specialty has been more closely defined in recent years resulting in the exclusion of groups of staff such as health visitors and school nurses who some trusts and PCTs previously included as public health staff.
	A public health workforce collection was conducted on 28 February 2007 which asked NHS to return information on their public health staff in post on that date. The Information Centre is currently analysing this data with a view to publication in the autumn.

Domestic Violence: Victim Support Schemes

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funds are available to assist the victims of domestic violence to recover from their experiences.

Vernon Coaker: I have been asked to reply.
	This year, the Ministry of Justice has committed £3 million to fund independent domestic violence advisers: trained specialists whose goal is to ensure the safety and recovery of victims of domestic violence.
	The Home Office has allocated £2 million to fund the local delivery of support services for victims of domestic violence and their children, and just under £2 million has been made available to local areas for the development of multi-agency risk assessment conferences, which aim to ensure the safety of identified high risk victims, and help them recover from their experiences without fear of repeat victimisation.
	Safe housing is integral to victims' recovery, and Support People funding is available to provide housing-related support for victims of domestic violence. In 2005-06, over £59 million was made available through this funding.
	The Government also part funds a matrix of helplines which provide support and information to victims of domestic violence, to enable them to access assistance and support to help them recover from domestic violence.
	In addition to this, health services have been making significant progress in the early identification of, and intervention with, victims of domestic violence victims—for example, rolling out making routine inquiries of all pregnant women, and taking forward work on collecting violent crime data (including domestic violence data) through electronic patient records.

Defence: Finance

Mark Harper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of the current HM Treasury financial delegation to the Ministry of Defence.

Stephen Timms: I have today placed a copy of the current HM Treasury delegations to the Ministry of Defence, in the Library, as requested.

Hometrack

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what meetings representatives of  (a) his Department and  (b) the Valuation Office Agency have had with (i) the company Hometrack and (ii) its representatives in the last 24 months;
	(2)  what representations  (a) his Department and  (b) the Valuation Office Agency has received from the company Hometrack in the last 24 months.

Dawn Primarolo: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with and receive representations from a wide range of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings and representations.

Barristers: Legal Aid Scheme

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice which barristers received the highest sums from the Legal Services Commission in respect of legal aid cases for  (a) civil and  (b) criminal work in each of the last three years; and how much each was paid in each year.

Vera Baird: The information requested for 2004-05 has been published on the Department for Constitutional Affairs website, at the following location:
	http://www.dca.gov.uk/rights/dca/inforeleased/050914.htm.
	The figures relating to the highest paid criminal and civil barristers for 2005-06 has also been published on the Ministry's website, at the following location:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/foi-highpaidbarristers.htm.
	Information regarding which barristers received the highest sums from the Legal Services Commission in respect of legal aid cases for civil and criminal work in 2006-07 will be published once the data has been collated and verified.

Departments: Pay

Vincent Cable: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many staff in her Department and its predecessor received bonus payments in each of the last five years for which information is available; what proportion of the total workforce they represented; what the total amount of bonuses paid was; what the largest single payment was; and if she will make a statement.

Vera Baird: The Ministry of Justice employs staff previously employed on several sets different terms and conditions, each with their own arrangements for bonus payments. The information provided in the following table relates to former DCA Senior Civil Service (SCS) and grades below SCS. It excludes magistrates courts staff who became civil servants within this Department in April 2005 and whose terms and conditions do not normally allow for payment of performance or special bonuses. It also excludes those staff in the Tribunals Service and who joined former DCA on 1 April 2006 for whom information is not currently available.
	Information for Her Majesty's Prison Service (below SCS) is provided.
	
		
			  Senior civil service bonuses received during the past five years for staff on former DCA terms and conditions 
			  Paid in calendar year  Staff receiving bonuses  Proportion receiving bonuses (Percentage)  Total amount awarded (£)  Largest award (£) 
			 2003 43 46 170,557 6,500 
			 2004 69 72 268,900 11,200 
			 2005 105 84 537,687 12,690 
			 2006 118 79 821,750 17,500 
			 2007(1) — — — — 
			 (1) No bonuses have yet been paid to members of the SCS during 2007 
		
	
	
		
			  Special bonuses received during the past five years for staff on former DCA terms and conditions (not SCS) 
			  Paid in financial year  Staff receiving bonuses  Proportion receiving bonuses (Percentage)  Total amount awarded (£)  Largest award (£) 
			 2002-03 995 7 253,258 — 
			 2003-04 447 3.1 343,347 — 
			 2004-05 1,649 11.6 412,898 5,304 
			 2005-06 1,809 12.8 487,753 5,000 
			  Notes: 1. Data shows payments for each financial year from 2002-03. Comprehensive information is not yet available for 2006-07. 2. Data covering largest award is not available prior to 2004 when the current recognition and reward scheme was launched. 3. Proportions refer to the number of staff eligible to be awarded special bonuses under their terms and conditions (i.e. these exclude former Magistrates Courts Service Staff). 
		
	
	
		
			  Performance bonuses awarded during the past five years to staff on former DCA terms and conditions (not SCS) 
			  Paid in calendar year  Staff receiving bonuses  Proportion receiving bonuses (Percentage)  Total amount awarded (£)  Largest award (£) 
			 2003 1,131 9.27 502,030 725 
			 2004 1,430 9 572,000 400 
			 2005 1,881 13.3 752,400 400 
			 2006 1,995 14.1 798,000 400 
			 2007 1,848 13.2 739,200 400 
			  Notes: 1. Data referring to Proportion of staff receiving bonuses refer only to staff on relevant terms and conditions (i.e. only include former DCA and Court Service Staff but exclude staff on Magistrates Courts terms and conditions). 2. Prior to 2003 performance bonuses in former LCD were linked to grade—from 2004 a flat rate was applied. 
		
	
	HM Prison Service became an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice on 9 May 2007.
	Information on the number and proportion of staff receiving special bonuses, the total amount of bonuses awarded and the largest payment in each year within the public sector Prison Service is contained in the following table:
	
		
			  Public sector prison service special bonuses recorded 2003-04 to June 2007 
			  Paid in financial year  Staff receiving bonuses  Proportion receiving bonuses (Percentage)  Total amount awarded (£)  Largest award (£) 
			 2002-03 1,268 3 463,449 4,000 
			 2003-04 1,983 4 740,443 4,000 
			 2004-05 3,375 7 868,594 5,000 
			 2005-06 3,004 6 983,273 15,802 
			 2006-07 2,432 5 873,141 5,000 
			 April-June 07 518 1 250,453 20,000 
		
	
	Details of staff who joined the Ministry of Justice from the Home Office are currently being collated. Therefore it has not been possible to identify Ministry of Justice staff on former Home Office terms (including from the National Offender Management Service) who received bonuses under their previous schemes within the available timescales.

Domestic Violence

Sarah Teather: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what funds are available to assist the victims of domestic violence in escaping from abusive situations.

Meg Munn: I have been asked to reply.
	Domestic violence is a cross-Government priority led by the Inter-Ministerial Group for Domestic Violence. The group comprises of Ministers from nine Government Departments and the three devolved administrations.
	The budgets outlined as follows contribute towards the delivery of the National Delivery Plan for Domestic Violence which focuses on a range of key work objectives from early intervention and prevention through to developing a coordinated community response to tackling domestic violence.
	Communities and Local Government provide a part of the funding that assists victims of domestic violence to escape abusive situations,
	For 2003-06 a total of £32.1 million capital was invested in refuge provision in England (£15.7 million through the Housing Corporation and £16.4 million from the Homelessness Strategy and Support Directorate in Communities and Local Government). 511 units of accommodation were refurbished or newly built.
	In 2005-06, £59 million of Supporting People funding was used to provide housing related support to women at risk of domestic violence.
	We continued to fund UKRefugesonline (£100,000 2007-08), a UK wide database of domestic violence services delivered in partnership by Women's Aid and Refuge which supports the national 24 hour free phone domestic violence helpline.
	In addition my Department has allocated £47.2 million to local authorities to help them tackle and prevent homelessness in their area for 2007-08. They may choose to use a proportion of this money to fund Sanctuary Schemes.
	Government provides other funding to help support victims of domestic violence. In 2006-07 the Home Office allocated £6 million to tackle domestic violence:
	£3 million to support and improve local delivery on domestic violence for victims of domestic violence and their children
	£1 million to expand the Specialist Domestic Violence Court Programme
	£1 million for Independent Domestic Violence Advisors
	£1 million to continue to fund national domestic violence services, for example the matrix of help lines.
	In 2007-08 Ministry of Justice/Her Majesty's Court Service provided a further £3 million for the expansion of the network of Independent Domestic Violence Advisers that support the Specialist Domestic Violence Courts.

Arms Length Management Organisations: Finance

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the funding arrangements will be for arm's length management organisations after the Decent Homes Standard period has passed in 2010; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: Arms length management organisations (ALMOs) secure their funding through a management fee from the local authority. The resources available to the local authority flow from the HRA subsidy system, its capital receipts and any prudential borrowing it takes on. This funding arrangement will remain after the Decent Homes programme is complete.

Energy: Conservation

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the Government's target is for the number of  (a) homes with an excellent building regulations energy efficiency rating and  (b) zero-carbon homes to be built in each year in England.

Angela Smith: Building Regulations set minimum standards for energy efficiency. Changes we have already made to Building Regulations mean that the energy efficiency of new houses has improved by 70 per cent. compared to pre-1990 levels. We have also consulted on proposals to further strengthen Building Regulations over the next decade such that all new homes will be required to be zero carbon in terms of their net emissions over the course of a year from 2016.
	Homes built with Government funding are taking the lead here. All new Government funding for homes built by registered landlords and other developers, for example through the Housing Corporation, will now make it a condition that they achieve a 3-star rating in the Code for Sustainable Homes—25 per cent. better than current building regulations.
	We expect that changes to the building regulations, the Code for Sustainable Homes, the carbon challenge and the stamp duty relief for new zero carbon homes will all encourage the development of highly energy efficient and zero carbon homes. We do not have targets of the type referred to but we will be monitoring progress carefully.

European Regional Development Fund

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she was first notified by the European Commission of the prospect of European Regional Development Fund payments being suspended; on what grounds the payments are being suspended; what form this notification took; what action she has taken in response; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 8 May 2007
	 Officials from the European Commission informed us orally and wrote to the United Kingdom in November 2006 indicating an intention to advise the Commission to hold back the reimbursement of expenditure by the Government on the ERDF 2000-06 programmes in England. In particular, the European Commission wanted us to carry out more physical on-site checking of projects to ensure compliance with particular EU budget criteria. Formal notification was received on 11 April 2007. Action to increase the level of on-site checks began June last year in addition strengthened management of the processes involved. A robust action plan has been in place for some time and we have made significant progress which has meant that four of the nine regions were not included in the Commission's formal decision. Further work is under way with the Commission to meet their requirements.

Fire Prevention: Tourism

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what actions her Department has taken to ensure the consistent interpretation and enforcement by fire authorities of fire risk assessments undertaken in respect of self-catering tourist providers; and if she will make a statement.

Angela Smith: The Department has issued 11 guides dealing with a range of different types of premises. The guides are intended to assist both fire and rescue authorities and the person responsible for a premises to establish what fire precautions may be necessary for a particular case. Guide No 3 deals with sleeping accommodation and includes advice on fire safety risk assessment for self catering tourist accommodation. The guides are freely available on the Department's website at www.communities.gov.uk.

Home Information Packs: Finance

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funding is being allocated to local authority trading standards officers to enforce the home information pack regulations.

Yvette Cooper: The Government have allocated significant additional resources through the local government settlement for local authority trading standards officers to meet the statutory duty to enforce Home Information Packs.

Home Information Packs: Vetting

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the estimated time period is for an energy inspector  (a) to undergo a Criminal Records Bureau check and  (b) to be accredited.

Yvette Cooper: A fully completed application for a criminal records check for a domestic energy assessor is currently being processed within seven to 10 working days by Disclosure Scotland.
	It is the trained assessor's responsibility to ensure that all required documentation is provided to the accreditation scheme they have applied to. Due to this, the process varies in duration. Required documentation includes; certificate of qualification from awarding body, completed criminal records check, and proof of suitable operating insurance.

Hometrack

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what payments her Department and its predecessor have made to the company Hometrack since 2002.

Yvette Cooper: Since 2002, neither Communities and Local Government nor its predecessor, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, have made any payments to Hometrack.

Housing: Construction

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what the Government's target is for the number of new domestic dwellings to be built in each year in England;
	(2)  what the Government's target is for the number of new homes to be built in each year under its sustainable communities programme.

Yvette Cooper: The Sustainable Communities Plan, launched in 2003, set out plans to increase housing delivery across London and the wider south east in the period to 2016 to 1.1 million in total, from previous plans for 900,000. In 2005, the Government set a target for 200,000 new homes a year by 2016.

Housing: Construction

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many domestic dwellings were completed in England in each year since 1996-97.

Yvette Cooper: The number of new domestic dwellings completed in England in each year since 1996-97 has been tabulated as follows.
	
		
			  House building: permanent dwellings completed, England 
			  Financial year  Houses 
			 1996-97 146,246 
			 1997-98 149,555 
			 1998-99 140,708 
			 1999-2000 142,046 
			 2000-01 133,255 
			 2001-02 129,866 
			 2002-03 137,739 
			 2003-04 143,958 
			 2004-05 155,893 
			 2005-06 163,398 
			 2006-07 167,691 
			  Sources: P2m returns from local authorities, returns from National Housebuilding Council (NHBC) 
		
	
	The number of domestic dwellings completed in England are also shown on the Communities and Local Government website:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/pub/53/Table232_id1156053.xls.

Housing: Empty Property

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local councils have brought into use empty private sector properties under the Housing Act 2004.

Yvette Cooper: Local authorities have a range of powers to bring empty properties back into use. The provision in the Housing Act for Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMOs) are just one of a range of measures and in many areas are used to encourage landlords to take action on a voluntary basis. Since the commencement of the Housing Act 2004 in April 2007, three interim EDMOs have received authorisation (Norwich, Peterborough and South Oxfordshire).

Housing: Females

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance she has issued on the priority to be given to the provision of appropriate housing for  (a) women and  (b) women with children who have (i) suffered domestic violence and (ii) who have been trafficked.

Yvette Cooper: Local housing authorities must allocate housing accommodation in accordance with part 6 of the Housing Act 1996. Among other things, this requires authorities to publish a scheme for determining their priorities, and defining the procedures to be followed, in allocating housing. The scheme must be framed so that reasonable preference for an allocation is given to certain groups of applicant, but it is for individual authorities to decide on the priorities to be given to people within these groups. The reasonable preference groups are based on housing need and include people who need to move on medical or welfare grounds (including grounds relating to a disability) and people owed a homelessness duty. The scheme may also be framed so that additional preference is given to people within the reasonable preference categories who have urgent housing need. The Department has issued statutory guidance to local housing authorities on how they should discharge their functions under part 6. This gives examples of people with urgent housing needs to whom housing authorities should consider giving additional preference including those owed a homelessness duty as a result of domestic violence.
	Under the homelessness legislation (part 7 of the 1996 Act), local housing authorities must secure that suitable accommodation is available for housing applicants who are eligible for assistance, homeless through no fault of their own and who fall within a priority need group. Accommodation must be secured until a settled home becomes available. The priority need groups include people whose household includes a dependant child or a pregnant woman and, in 2002, the Government extended the priority need groups to include, among others, people who are vulnerable as a result of leaving their home because of violence or threats of violence likely to be carried out. Jointly with the Secretaries of State for Education and Skills and for Health, the Secretary of State has issued statutory guidance to local authorities which they must have regard to when exercising their homelessness functions. The guidance reminds authorities that, under the legislation, a person is homeless if it is not reasonable for them to continue to live in their home and itwould not be reasonable for someone to continue to live in their home if that was likely to lead to violence against them or against a member of their family. The guidance also encourages authorities to offer people who have experienced domestic violence a range of accommodation and support options, includingthe option of remaining in their home withadditional security measures provided under a sanctuary scheme.
	The Government have signed and ratified the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. It has also recently signed the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. This will build on our strategy to combat human trafficking by providing minimum standards of protection and victim support, whilst also providing a framework for enhanced provision.
	Details on how implementation will be taken forward are currently being developed. These will involve close co-operation with non-governmental organisations, law enforcement agencies and other Government Departments. Progress will be monitored by the Inter-Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking of which Communities and Local Government's Deputy Minister for Women and Equality, is a member.
	The London-based POPPY Project, run through "Eaves Housing for Women", was launched in 2003 and provides a highly regarded combination of safe accommodation and support for victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation, which meets Council of Europe Convention requirements. Additionally, as a result of Operation Pentameter there are now a number of independently funded organisations (Salvation Army, CHASTE, the Medaille Trust), who also provide accommodation.
	The Government are currently considering a pilot scheme to test the level and type of support required for victims of forced labour trafficking.
	The UK Human Trafficking Centre was launched 3 October 2006, the first of its kind in Europe. This is becoming a centre of excellence for dealing with human trafficking and will promote the expansion of victim support services. The Government also published the UK Action Plan on Tackling Human Trafficking on 23 March. This aims to strike the right balance between protection and assistance for all victims of trafficking, and prevention and enforcement activity to crack down on criminals.
	Through its recently published Gender Equality Scheme, the Department has also initiated a number of actions aimed at supporting those women who are victims of domestic violence or who have been trafficked. These include co-ordinating and joining up Government actions on violence against women, and monitoring the impact of changes in local government funding on locally delivered support for vulnerable women. Communities England will also ensure that gender issues are taken into account in exercising functions delivering local strategies for regeneration, housing growth and affordable housing.

Housing: Finance

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much  (a) capital and  (b) revenue funding the Government provided to each local authority in England for (i) housing and (ii) regeneration purposes in the last year for which figures are available.

Phil Woolas: Capital funding for local authority housing is provided through the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) subsidy system in the form of supported capital expenditure (SCE) and the major repairs allowance (MRA). SCE is the level of borrowing for capital purposes that is supported by the Government through the HRA subsidy. This value is based on the Regional Housing Boards' allocations. MRA represents the estimated long-term average amount of capital spending required to maintain a local authorities housing stock in current condition. The capital funding includes an element for regeneration but that is combined with the decent homes programme in the private sector. There is also an element of non-HRA funding for local authorities.
	Revenue funding for local authority housing is provided in the form of HRA Subsidy and Formula Grant. HRA subsidy refers to the entitlement local authorities receive from Government to support their housing programs. 2005-06 is the latest year for which audited figure are available. Housing is one of the services supported by formula grant. Formula grant, which comprises Revenue Support Grant, redistributed business rates and principal formula Police Grant, where appropriate, is an unhypothecated block grant i.e. authorities are free to spend the money on any service. For this reason, and because of the method of calculation, particularly floor damping, it is not possible to say how much grant has been provided for a particular service. Tables displaying the 2005-06HRA subsidy and 2005-06 capital funding for each local authority have been placed in the Library of the House.
	For regeneration purposes, there is no local authority wise breakdown available. The information is compiled on a program-specific basis. Departmental funding for regeneration projects in 2005-06 are tabled as follows.
	
		
			  Regeneration programmes: departmental funding spent on regeneration projects in 2005-06 
			  £ million 
			  Programme  Revenue  Capital 
			 Coalfields funding (Enterprise Fund and Regeneration Trust) 10.715 8.500 
			 Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment 6.651 — 
			 Design Awards 0.052 — 
			 English Partnerships (including Commission for the New Towns)(1) -51.014 539.195 
			 European Regional Development Fund 51.242 175.527 
			 Groundwork & National Urban Forestry Unit 3.698 10.352 
			 Housing Market Renewal Fund 0.911 302.542 
			 Lea Valley Regional Park — 0.458 
			 Mersey Basin 0.520 — 
			 New Deal for Communities 168.260 100.333 
			 New Ventures Fund 76.558 1.031 
			 Neighbourhood Renewal Fund 525.000 — 
			 Other Growth Areas 8.013 70.793 
			 Regional Development Agencies (including London Development Agency) 545.632 941.082 
			 Special Grants Programme 2.783 — 
			 Thames Gateway 12.880 149.005 
			 Green Flags 0.356 — 
			 Liveability Performance 1.394 0.523 
			 Academy for Sustainable Communities (formerly Urban Design Skills) 2.282 — 
			 (1) Negative spend against English Partnerships is due to profit on sale of land exceeding revenue spend.

Housing: Low Incomes

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how much funding was allocated to build affordable housing in financial years  (a) 2005-06 and  (b) 2006-07; how much she plans to allocate in 2007-08; and how many affordable homes (i) were built in financial years 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07 and (iii) she estimates will be built in financial year 2007-08;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the cost of building 50,000 social homes in the years 2006-07 and 2007-08; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  what estimate she has made of the number of social homes that will be completed in 2006-07.

Yvette Cooper: Expenditure through the Housing Corporation's Affordable Housing Programme (AHP) in 2005-06 totalled £1.6 billion and for the two years 2006 to 2008 we allocated a further £3.9 billion, of which the Housing Corporation spent £1.9 billion in 2006-07.
	In 2005-06 over 45,400 affordable homes were provided with 36,386 of these being provided through Housing Corporation's AHP. Provisional figures for 2006-07 indicate that over 44,000 affordable homes were provided, of which around 38,000 were through Housing Corporation's AHP. A further 56,000 affordable homes are planned for 2007-08, of which over 47,000 will be provided though the Housing Corporation's funding.
	Provisional figures for 2006-07 show that over 25,000 social rented homes were provided of which 22,000 were through the Housing Corporation's AHP.
	We have made no estimates for the cost of building 50,000 social rented homes in 2006-07 and 2007-08. We set the Housing Corporation targets to provide 21,000 social rented homes in 2006-07 and 28,000 in 2007-08. The latter homes will contribute towards our target of providing 30,000 social rented homes in 2007-08.
	Of the Housing Corporation budget of £3.9 billion for 2006-08 it is estimated that £2.8 billion will be spent on providing social rented homes. Future investment will be subject to the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 on which we have already stated that we intend to make the provision of social rented homes a priority.

Housing: Wycombe

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many empty properties designated for key workers were recorded in Wycombe constituency in each of the most recent three years for which figures are available.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 25 June 2007
	 The Government offer housing assistance to key workers under the Key Worker Living (KWL) scheme in areas experiencing severe recruitment and retention difficulties. Key Worker Living funding is divided between Open Market HomeBuy (equity loans to purchase properties on the open market) and new build products such as New Build HomeBuy (shared ownership of newly built homes) and intermediate rent (newly built homes where the rent is set at a level between that charged by social and private landlords).
	Since April 2006 we no longer fund specific key worker only new build schemes. Instead key workers access our New Build HomeBuy and intermediate rent programmes as a priority group alongside other priorities such as social tenants. Any key worker specific schemes yet to complete will have been funded under old shared ownership programmes.
	Since the launch of Key Worker Living the Housing Corporation has been collecting data on when the construction of a scheme has been completed and when the final unit has been occupied. The purpose of this data is to actively manage the portfolio of new build properties and take action to prevent long term empty units—and as such allows us to give a breakdown of the current position on empty properties only. As at the end of May 2007 there are no empty Key Worker Living properties designated for key workers only in the Wycombe constituency.

iGather

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funding her Department and its agencies have provided for the iGather project; and what plans there are to roll it out across England.

Ruth Kelly: The iGather project was awarded funding of £300,000 in March 2005. The project has developed a prototype to enable ready access to environmental, employment, housing and other data stored electronically to assist planners carry out sustainability appraisals effectively and efficiently.
	The purpose of a sustainability appraisal, mandatory under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, is to promote sustainable development through the integration of social, environmental and economic considerations into the preparation of revisions of regional spatial strategies and for new or revised development plan documents and supplementary planning documents.
	Further work is being carried out, which will enable the prototype to be fully operational for the South West region by the end of 2007. No decision has yet been made on its further roll out.

Immigration: EC Enlargement

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will estimate the likely impact on the number of houses in multiple occupation in  (a) Peterborough and  (b) local authorities in the Eastern Region of the migration of new EU member state citizens to these areas since 2004; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The Department recognises the impact of EU migration and, in partnership with the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA), is currently developing a toolkit of good practice guidance for local authorities on issues such as overcrowding in Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs).
	The number of HMOs in local authority areas has been collected by the Department through the Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA) since 2001. The following table indicates the number of HMOs in Peterborough since 2004.
	
		
			  Housing strategy statistical data 
			   Number of HMOs in the City of Peterborough 
			 2003-04 800 
			 2004-05 1,000 
			 2005-06 1,000 
		
	
	The following table indicates the number of HMOs in all local authorities in the Eastern region since 2004.
	
		
			  Housing strategy statistical data 
			  Local authority area  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Babergh 30 30 30 
			 Basildon 25 40 38 
			 Bedford 450 450 450 
			 Braintree 53 50 50 
			 Breckland 316 468 506 
			 Brentwood 70 50 50 
			 Broadland 400 100 88 
			 Broxbourne 35 63 75 
			 Cambridge 3,717 3,717 3,717 
			 Castle Point (1)— 8 290 
			 Chelmsford 358 82 91 
			 Colchester 438 164 191 
			 Dacorum 46 36 40 
			 East Cambridgeshire 40 40 40 
			 East Hertfordshire 92 97 96 
			 Epping Forest 4,400 130 250 
			 Fenland 163 300 300 
			 Forest Heath 100 59 150 
			 Great Yarmouth 550 550 550 
			 Harlow 74 79 132 
			 Hertsmere 76 76 76 
			 Huntingdonshire 52 52 52 
			 Ipswich 687 953 958 
			 Kings Lynn and West Norfolk 216 300 315 
			 Luton 812 884 821 
			 Maldon 11 20 7 
			 Mid Bedfordshire 23 14 8 
			 Mid Suffolk 55 42 53 
			 North Hertfordshire 61 60 60 
			 North Norfolk 373 373 57 
			 Norwich 1,500 1500 1900 
			 Peterborough 800 1000 1000 
			 Rochford 40 40 12 
			 South Bedfordshire 164 (1)— (1)— 
			 South Cambridgeshire 473 284 284 
			 South Norfolk 78 29 589 
			 Southend-on-Sea 158 159 150 
			 St. Albans 326 305 333 
			 St. Edmundsbury 76 78 86 
			 Stevenage 320 320 86 
			 Suffolk Coastal 414 321 339 
			 Tendring 242 233 227 
			 Three Rivers 48 56 17 
			 Thurrock 163 256 179 
			 Uttlesford 25 0 50 
			 Watford 217 216 216 
			 Waveney 30 25 40 
			 Welwyn Hatfield 1,400 1,400 1,400 
			 (1) No return. 
		
	
	The Department does not currently hold data for 2006-07.

Local Authorities: Housing

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local authority owned homes were sold to  (a) registered social landlords and  (b) private landlords in each London borough in each of the last 10 years.

Yvette Cooper: The following table gives details of London boroughs who have sold their housing stock to the registered social landlord sector through large scale voluntary transfer in the last 10 years. We could provide figures for small scale voluntary only at disproportionate cost. We do not have any data on trickle transfers to registered social landlords, nor do we have data on how many local authority homes have been sold to private landlords.
	
		
			  Dwellings transferred from local authorities to the registered social landlord sector in London 1997-2007 
			  LA name  Dwellings 
			 Total 1997 0 
			   
			 LB Lambeth 1,196 
			 LB Bexley 8,215 
			 LB Merton 1,018 
			 LB Tower Hamlets 4,283 
			 LB Hackney 951 
			 LB Brent 1,481 
			 Total 1998 17,144 
			   
			 LB Hackney 2,745 
			 LB Hammersmith and Fulham 668 
			 LB Enfield 1,194 
			 LB Greenwich 1,280 
			 LB Lambeth 4,777 
			 LB Islington 1,386 
			 Total 1999 12,050 
			   
			 LB Hackney 2,336 
			 LB Tower Hamlets 1,551 
			 LB Richmond 7,139 
			 Total 2000 11,026 
			   
			 LB Tower Hamlets 1,859 
			 Total 2001 1,859 
			   
			 LB Waltham Forest 2,242 
			 LB Hackney 954 
			 LB Harrow 518 
			 Total 2002 3,714 
			   
			 LB Tower Hamlets 78 
			 Total 2004 78 
			   
			 LB Islington 615 
			 LB Lambeth 630 
			 LB Tower Hamlets 3,111 
			 Total 2005 4,356 
			   
			 LB Tower Hamlets 2,920 
			 LB Lambeth 1,412 
			 Total 2006 4,332 
			   
			 LB Lambeth 1,031 
			 LB Sutton 524 
			 LB Islington 502 
			 LB Tower Hamlets 51 
			 Total 2007 (to date) 2,108

Local Authorities: Inspections

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which organisations have a function of inspecting local authorities.

Phil Woolas: The Government set out proposals for a new performance management framework for local areas in the White Paper 'Strong and Prosperous Communities' (Cm 6939) in October 2006. This will be introduced from 2009.
	The Audit Commission (which from April 2008 will be merged with the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate) will continue to have powers to inspect local authorities under Best Value, with any inspection in future being triggered primarily by risk assessment. The Audit Commission will also manage the overall programme of inspection and external assessment of local authorities to reduce duplication and ensure inspection and assessment is better co-ordinated and proportionate to risk.
	Other regulators and inspectorates with responsibilities for inspection of some local authority services include the new Ofsted, the Adult Social Care Inspectorate which will bring together Commission for Social Care Inspection and Healthcare Commission functions, and the existing five criminal justice inspectorates.

Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will reconsider the inclusion of Clause 39 in the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill following the combined 2007 Scottish Parliamentary and Scottish local elections; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: Clause 60 (previously clause 39, prior to Report stage in the House of Commons) of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill provides for the Secretary of State, by order, to move the date of the local government elections in a year so that these coincide with the European parliamentary general election in that year. Any such order must be approved by both Houses of Parliament, following consultation with the Electoral Commission and other appropriate persons. This process will ensure that, in any year, the merits of holding the elections on the same day will be fully considered.

Local Government: Finance

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which  (a) special grants and  (b) specific grants were paid to local authorities in England in 2006-07.

Phil Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to the reports and related tabled for the Local Government Finance Settlement 2006-07. Copies of the reports, tables and other supporting material were made available in the Vote Office and the Library of the House on 31 January 2006. Key Table 2 set out the specific and special grants to be paid in that year. Information covering all grants paid to local authorities in that year will be available from the local authority outturn return. There were no grants paid in 2006-07 using the special grant making powers under section 88B of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 (substituted by paragraph 18 of schedule 10 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992).

Planning Inspectorate: Consultants

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what measures the Planning Inspectorate has in place to achieve value for money in the procurement of external consultants undertaken by the agency's Procurement Unit.

Yvette Cooper: The Planning Inspectorate has a dedicated procurement unit and all consultancy contracts are handled within that unit. In the drive to deliver value for money close attention is paid to standard best practice procurement procedures; from clear specification through to effective contract management. Extensive use is also made of the framework contracts managed by the Office of Government Commerce to deliver both price and process savings.

Planning Policy Statement 3: Regulatory Impact Assessments

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what reasons the Regulatory Impact Assessment for Planning Policy Statement 3 (PPS3) was published after PPS3 came into effect.

Yvette Cooper: The Department produced a partial regulatory impact assessment as part of the consultation paper on a new Planning Policy Statement 3 (PPS3) "Housing", which we published in December 2005.
	Subsequently, we considered those consultation responses made in respect to the partial assessment to inform the final regulatory impact assessment. This analysis is set out in the 'Consultation on Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing (PPS3)—A summary of responses and key issues', which we published alongside final PPS3 in November 2006.
	While a regulatory impact assessment had been produced at the time of launching PPS3, unfortunately, this was not published until May 2007.

Planning: Reform

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her timetable is for the  (a) consultation and  (b) legislation on reform of the planning system, following the publication of the Planning White Paper.

Yvette Cooper: The Government are consulting on some key proposals and other issues in the White Paper 'Planning for a Sustainable Future' (Cm7120) and four associated consultation papers on: planning performance agreements, planning fees; changes to permitted development rights for householders and improving the appeal process. The closing date for responses is August 17 2007. Paragraphs 10.15 and 10.16 of the White Paper describe further consultations proposed during 2007 and 2008.
	By summer 2007 we will consult on a new draft national Planning Policy Statement 'Planning for Economic Development', proposals to replace the need and impact tests with a new test, and proposals to reduce the Secretary of State's involvement in planning cases.
	By the end of 2007 we will consult on proposals to extend permitted development rights for the installation of microgeneration equipment without planning permission to non residential users, on detailed changes to regulations, policy and guidance in relation to local plan making, on proposals on revised arrangements for statutory consultees and on proposals to extend the impact approach to minor non householder development.
	By summer 2008 we will consult on proposals for revising the main legislation covering the process of submitting and considering planning applications.
	The Government plan to legislate at the earliest opportunity, with the aim of having the infrastructure planning commission operational in 2009.

Social Rented Housing

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether data on the location of subsidised housing from the National Register of Social Housing is used by the Valuation Office Agency for council tax valuation purposes.

Phil Woolas: No.

Subsidence

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what guidance her Department has made available to local authorities affected by widespread and severe subsidence in public areas caused by abandoned mineworkings operated by companies no longer in existence on how to determine where the financial liabilities lie for restoring affected public areas, public buildings and private properties;
	(2)  what  (a) financial assistance,  (b) additional powers or responsibilities and  (c) legal and technical assistance her Department makes available to local authorities dealing with severe subsidence in public areas;
	(3)  what courses of action are available to local authorities to provide remedies to  (a) schools,  (b) housing estates and  (c) other public spaces affected by severe subsidence caused by derelict mineworkings; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer s 11 June 2007
	 Statutory responsibility in ensuring public safety from threats stemming from land instability lies with local authorities. Local authorities in England are eligible to apply to the Land Stabilisation Programme via English Partnerships, the national regeneration agency, for assistance with funding for land stabilisation problems arising from abandoned non-coal mines. English Partnerships manages the Land Stabilisation programme on behalf of the Department. The focus of funding through the Land Stabilisation Programme is principally on removal of blight or enabling investment to regenerate areas where abandoned underground non-coal mine workings are present and where there is a threat to life and/or property. Extensive guidance on the assistance available and how to apply for assistance with funding can be found on the English Partnerships website at:
	www.englishpartnerships.co.uk.
	Responsibility for dealing with stabilisation works and in complying with any regulations or legislation governing public health and safety lies at all times with Local authorities, this includes compliance with planning requirements environmental protection and management of consultants/contractors. English Partnerships' expertise in best value and best practice is available to all project partners and covers a wide range of subjects such as construction methods and standards, management techniques, sustainable remediation and regeneration of blighted land. Where project costs are not eligible for assistance from EP via the Land Stabilisation programme, EP will nevertheless assist with advice.
	Funding assistance for local authorities provided through the non-coalmining Land Stabilisation Programme, can help to safeguard or remediate housing, commercial and other properties and public areas including schools, above the mines.

A21

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which properties have been purchased under compulsory purchase orders along the proposed route of the A21 upgrade.

Stephen Ladyman: No properties have been purchased under Compulsory Purchase Orders along the proposed route of the A21 upgrade.

A21

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has spent on the Weald Smokery, East Sussex, following its acquisition under blight provisions.

Stephen Ladyman: The Highways Agency purchased Weald Smokery on 8 May 2007. The Property itself was purchased for £1,395,657.00 which includes the farmhouse at £525,000, the business at £810,657 and the land stables at £60,000.
	Following the purchase of the Weald Smokery under statutory blight provisions, the Highways Agency has incurred costs of £4,131 + VAT to date.

Sports: Finance

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much she has allocated to the development of British sportsmen and women until 2012; how many recipients of such funding live in Ribble Valley constituency; and what proportion of the funding allocated to the 2012 Olympic games is for the development of sporting talent.

Richard Caborn: UK Sport, the Government's lead agency for high performance sport, is scheduled to allocate £600 million to the development of British sportsmen and women between now and 2012. £252 million has already been allocated to supporting Olympic and Paralympic sports and athletes through to the Beijing games in 2008. £216.4 million has been awarded directly to the national governing bodies and the athletes via UK sport's world class pathway programme, with the remainder funding key athlete support services such as sports science and medicine, and technology research and innovation.
	The world class pathway programme supports athletes at three different levels: World class talent, world class development and world class podium. Of the total through to Beijing, approximately 50 per cent. of funding is focused on the world class talent and development pathways.
	Funding for each sport beyond 2008-09 will be decided after a comprehensive review of its performance at the Beijing games, and assessment of its potential for future success at London 2012.
	At present there are three athletes from the Ribble Valley area on the world class pathway programme.

Polygamy

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Solicitor-General how many  (a) prosecutions and  (b) convictions for polygamy there were in the last 12 months.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I have been asked to reply.
	There is no offence of polygamy as such. A person who enters into a second or subsequent marriage while the first is still valid commits an offence of bigamy under section 57 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.
	The most recent data available, from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, shows that in England and Wales in 2005 28 defendants were prosecuted for and 21 found guilty of the offence of bigamy. Data for 2006 will be available in the autumn of 2007 and data for 2007 will be available in the autumn of 2008.

Afghanistan: Politics and Government

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the political situation on a regional level in Afghanistan.

Kim Howells: The general political situation in Afghanistan is relatively stable. The influence of the central Government outside Kabul is gradually increasing, particularly in the north and west. Local governance structures are slowly being built up, although this is more challenging in some areas than others. One of the key aims of the international-led provincial reconstruction teams, throughout the country, is to support the development of local government and to help the Government of Afghanistan extend its reach.

Iran: Embassies

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of  (a) the extent and nature of the recent harassment of guests to the United Kingdom embassy in Iran and  (b) the extent to which the Iranian authorities assisted in minimising the harassment and controlling the demonstrators; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: There was a large demonstration outside our embassy in Tehran before and during, Her Majesty the Queen's Birthday Party reception on 14 June. The demonstrators blocked access to the embassy for some hours and harassed and intimidated guests on their way into the reception. There were some instances of physical violence. Harassment continued as guests left the party and we are aware of a number of instances of guests being questioned and detained on departure.
	The Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office summoned the Iranian ambassador on 19 June to register our dismay that the authorities had failed to prevent this harassment from taking place. Our embassy in Tehran has done likewise with the Iranian authorities.

Armed Forces: Desertion

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) rank,  (b) age,  (c) sex,  (d) regiment and  (e) last theatre of operation is of those service personnel classed as being absent without leave and who have not yet been unaccounted for.

Adam Ingram: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, as at 25 June 2007, the numbers of personnel who have gone absent without leave from the Services since 1 January 2003 and remain so are:
	
		
			  Service  Number 
			 Army 960 
			 RAF 10 
			 Navy 15 
		
	
	These figures are rounded to the nearest five. They are subject to daily changes as individuals return to their units.

Armed Forces: Housing

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of accommodation provided by his Department to non-ministerial members of the Army Board is considered to be of Standard 1 condition.

Derek Twigg: Of the five non-ministerial members of the Army Board who are provided with accommodation, two (40 per cent.) occupy Standard One for Condition properties. They are the General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland and the Assistant Chief of the General Staff. The property occupied by the Chief of the General Staff is not owned or maintained by the MOD and therefore is not classified using the MOD system.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with senior army personnel on the death of Baha Mousa in Basra in 2003; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 18 June 2007
	The Secretary of State for Defence has regular discussions with senior army personnel on a range of matters. In line with standard practice, the Royal military police are currently reviewing the evidence from the court-martial. The Army Reviewing Authority is also conducting a statutory review of the sentence passed on Corporal Payne and the case remains Sub Judice. We will make a statement when these reviews are complete.

Land: Sales

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 22 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1035W, on land: sales, on what basis a contaminated site is not remediated before sale; and on what basis land on Matapan Road, Hilsea was not remediated.

Derek Twigg: It is normal for the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to undertake Land Quality Assessments (LQAs) on all sites being considered for disposal. Before the sale of a site, the MOD will generally undertake remediation of ordnance and other defence specific contaminants such as chemical agents, radioactive and microbiological materials.
	A phase I and phase II LQA survey for the Royal Navy Motor Transport Depot site at Hilsea, concluded there were no unacceptable risks to public health or the environment and action was not required under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Low levels of contamination were identified but no remediation measures by this Department were deemed necessary.

Departments: Northern Ireland

David Lidington: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if she will place in the Library a copy of the concordat governing the relationship between her Department and the Northern Ireland administration.

Hilary Armstrong: We do not have a Concordat with the Northern Ireland Executive. The principles set out in the Memorandum of Understanding and Supplementary Agreements between the UK Government, Scottish Ministers, the Cabinet of the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Executive, published in 2001, continue to underpin our working relationship with the Northern Ireland Executive.

Voluntary Organisations: National Lottery

Andrew MacKay: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if she will make a statement on the impact of funding plans for the 2012 Olympics on lottery funding for voluntary sector organisations.

Hilary Armstrong: The Big Lottery Fund (BLF) is the main distributor of lottery funding to the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS). The BLF has committed to distributing 60-70 per cent. of its money to the voluntary sector and that commitment is based on the money the sector would have received without the Olympic transfer, not 60-70 per cent. of what is left. The commitment remains unchanged, and the NCVO has welcomed this. It will allow for the important work carried out by Third Sector organisations, for the benefit of individuals and communities, to continue.
	The other lottery distributors are currently considering the specific impact of the Olympics funding on the VCS. However, lottery money will not be transferred to Olympic funding before 2009. This is in order to give the distributors the highest degree of certainty and the greatest possible time for planning. The other distributors are also concerned to ensure that support for small scale and voluntary sector projects remains available.

Departments: Sick Leave

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of sick leave taken by staff in his Department was stress-related in each of the last three years.

Gareth Thomas: Data on stress related absence in DFID are only available for the last year and the estimated figure for this was 1.1 per cent. of total sickness absence in that period. Data are not available for the previous two years and could be gathered only at disproportionate cost.
	I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 8 May 2007,  Official Report, column 8W, which set out the steps DFID has taken to prevent and manage stress in the workplace. On 1 July DFID will launch our Better Balance Campaign which is specifically targeted at raising awareness of stress related issues and the support available to tackle these.

Sudan: Overseas Aid

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment has been made of the humanitarian requirements of the displaced people in the Gereida region of Darfur following the recent withdrawal of independent aid agencies; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: The work of Oxfam and other aid agencies in addressing the humanitarian needs of the 130,000 people in Gereida was exceptional. Their withdrawal is highly regrettable but under the circumstances, they could not place their staff at such a continued risk. Since the evacuation of the other agencies, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), as the only agency left, decided to cover the gaps, providing water, sanitation, food, health care, shelter and other household items to the camp and host population of Gereida. As a result of this huge expansion in services, ICRC increased their appeal by £13 million to £44 million. In response, DFID increased its support to ICRC proportionately by £1 million to £4 million for 2007.
	The events in Gereida underline the fragility of the humanitarian situation in Darfur. It is only through the admirable work of aid agencies, that the four million people dependent on aid in the region have had access to vital assistance and services. The deterioration of the security situation and attacks on humanitarian workers, however, are having a severe impact on getting help to those in need.
	I utterly condemn the continuing violence targeting civilians and humanitarian workers in Darfur and have called on all sides to cease the violence immediately; renew the ceasefire, reinvigorate the political process and support the rapid deployment of the AU/ UN peacekeeping force for Darfur.

Climate Change: Publicity

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been spent on advertising the Department's climate change campaign Act on carbon dioxide; and how much has been spent on  (a) online advertising and  (b) television advertising.

Barry Gardiner: DEFRA's climate change 'Act on CO2' campaign was launched in March 2007.
	In the financial year 2006-07, the Department spent £225,000 on online advertising and nothing on any other media, including television advertising.

Departments: Energy

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many energy saving light bulbs were purchased by his Department for use on the departmental estate in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006.

Barry Gardiner: The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs does not record the number of energy saving light bulbs purchased on a year by year basis.
	In accordance with the Governments' sustainable procurement policies and the recommendations of the sustainable procurement task force, all light bulbs purchased for use on the departmental estate are energy saving bulbs.
	Additionally, any remaining tungsten lighting within the estate is being replaced with energy saving bulbs as part of the ongoing sustainability review.

Departments: Foreign Relations

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many memoranda of understanding are in force as a result of agreements with foreign governments entered into by Ministers in his Department; and what executive actions each entails.

Barry Gardiner: Records of memoranda of understanding (MoU)'s are not held centrally across Whitehall or centrally within DEFRA.
	However, I am aware that we hold the following MoU's:
	with Japan on the continuation of co-operation on research into environmental endocrine disrupting chemicals. This MoU facilitates exchange of information and joint workshops but has not lead to direct executive action;
	with the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources covering cooperation on matters relating to environmental protection and sustainable development. There are no executive actions arising from this MoU;
	with environment ministries or regulators in 15 countries to develop registry software for the trading of carbon allowances—Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Slovenia. In each case the MoU has been supplemented by a formal separate licence agreement with each country and officials work closely with their counterparts on the software developments including improvements to the existing operational software;
	with the National Development Reform Commission of the People's Republic of China and the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs on establishing a China-UK Climate Change Working Group. The MoU identified a range of climate change science, economics, technology and policy priorities for discussion; and
	between DEFRA, DTI and The Ministry of Science and Technology of the people's Republic of China. Its title is
	"Cooperation on Near-zero Emissions Coal Technology through Carbon Capture and Storage— Phase 1".
	Its purpose is to cooperate on near zero coal technology in China through carbon capture and storage and to explore the feasibility of and options for demonstration of this technology in China. Phase 1 activities are aimed to be complete by 2008;
	with China memorandum of understanding on agricultural science and technology, signed in 1980 Originally the responsibility of the Department for International Development's predecessor department. The Memorandum's sole executive action is the facilitation, with minimal funding (£10,000 a year, matched by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture), of exchange visits between British and Chinese agricultural experts in relation to selected research projects;
	with China on Phytosanitary Co-operation. The purpose of the agreement is to strengthen bilateral phytosanitary co-operation, to help prevent the movement of plant pests. Under the agreement, both parties exchange information on legislation; support technical exchanges, and notify each other of any discovery of plant pests; and
	a Protocol of phytosanitary requirements for the export of potato mini tubers from the UK to China, signed in Beijing in October 2006 by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on behalf of his DEFRA colleague
	DEFRA does have other ministerial-level agreements with foreign governments, such as the Sustainable Development Dialogues with Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa, but these are not formal MoU's.

Departments: Sick Leave

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what average number of days per year was taken by staff in his Department as sick leave in each of the last five years for which records are available.

Barry Gardiner: Information on sickness absences in Departments is collected by the Cabinet Office and published on their website at:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/occupational health/publications/index.asp
	The most recent published data available is for the calendar year 2005. The average number of working days lost due to sickness in DEFRA in 2005 and in the previous four years was as follows:
	
		
			   Working days lost  Total staff-years 
			 2001 7.4 n/a 
			 2002 8.7 10,320 
			 2003 8.3 7,285 
			 2004 7.5 7,483 
			 2005 8.2 7,313

Farmers: Income

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the average annual earnings for farmers in  (a) Cornwall,  (b) the South West and  (c) the UK in each year since 1979.

Barry Gardiner: Information is not available in the precise form requested. The following table shows average net farm income per farm in  (a) Cornwall  (b) the South West Government Office Region and  (c) the UK in each year since 1980-81. Data are not available on a comparable basis for earlier years.
	
		
			   Average net farm income (£-farm) 
			  March-February  Cornwall  South West  United Kingdom 
			 1980-81 6,289 8,496 7,013 
			 1981-82 8,158 13,114 10,005 
			 1982-83 10,424 10,976 11,341 
			 1983-84 6,430 9,895 10,714 
			 1984-85 7,683 10,996 11,817 
			 1985-86 8,375 9,404 6,675 
			 1986-87 5,513 9,528 10,011 
			 1987-88 13,338 16,003 11,571 
			 1988-89 15,401 19,083 12,319 
			 1989-90 10,952 14,420 15,482 
			 1990-91 7,655 11,542 14,288 
			 1991-92 13,814 15,254 15,250 
			 1992-93 15,237 19,541 19,166 
			 1993-94 20,687 21,669 21,923 
			 1994-95 13,966 21,281 24,123 
			 1995-96 20,976 30,778 31,776 
			 1996-97 7,413 22,785 26,027 
			 1997-98 1,868 11,688 12,213 
			 1998-99 -1,170 6,428 8,512 
			 1999-2000 1,641 7,508 6,639 
			 2000-01 3,702 6,841 8,666 
			 2001-02 17,015 15,110 12,992 
			 2002-03 16,070 15,079 13,728 
			 2003-04 18,914 21,458 23,932 
			 2004-05 11,539 17,080 17,991 
			 2005-06 10,463 17,753 17,508 
			  Source: Farm Business Survey 
		
	
	Net farm income is defined as the return to the principal farmer and spouse for their manual and managerial labour and on the tenant type capital of the business. It excludes all income arising from outside the farm business.

Livery Yards: Licensing

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to require livery yards to be licensed; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: Secondary legislation, under the Animal Welfare Act, concerning livery yards will be introduced as soon as possible in line with available resources. No timetable has yet been set.

Pollution Control

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with  (a) the senior management and  (b) the trades union representatives of the Environment Agency on the implications for (i) pollution control and (ii) employment of field inspectors of the proposed changes in the pollution monitoring and control regime.

Ben Bradshaw: The change from area office permitting to four national permitting centres is an operational matter for the Environment Agency. As such, it is their responsibility and the Secretary of State has had no discussions with either the senior management or trade union representatives about it.
	The Agency understands that the scale of change can give rise to uncertainty for staff and has ensured that everyone in the organisation is aware of the programme of change. The Agency has full and regular consultation with the trade unions on the changes and potential impact on their members. The implementation of business changes which impact on staff is carried out in accordance with a set of principles agreed with the trade unions.

Child Support

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cases of  (a) full compliance,  (b) partial compliance and  (c) non-compliance by the partner without care were recorded by the Child Support Agency in each of the last five years.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member.

Children Support Agency

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was collected in maintenance by the Child Support Agency in each year since 1993-94; what the cost of running the agency was in each year; how much he expects it to collect in 2007-08; what the expected cost is of running the agency in 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen, dated 26 June 2007:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply for the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much was collected in maintenance by the Child Support Agency in each year since 1993-1994; what the cost of running the Agency was in each year; how much he expects to collect in 2007-08; what the expected cost of running the Agency in 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.
	Such information as is available, is presented in the attached table.
	
		
			  Child Support Agency's actual and forecast net administration costs and maintenance collections for the years 1994-95 to 2007-08 
			  £ million 
			   Annual agency net administration costs  Total maintenance collected and arranged (see note 7)  Estimated value of maintenance direct arrangements in place m (see note 8) 
			 2007-08 570.00 970.00 310.00 
			 2006-07 520.34 882.6 276.9 
			 2005-06 465.22 828.5 234.3 
			 2004-05 425.59 793.2 208.5 
			 2003-04 451.60 794.7 214.2 
			 2002-03 428.90 572.55 — 
			 2001-02 361.90 528.45 — 
			 2000-01 298.30 502.55 — 
			 1999-00 266.70 460.68 — 
			 1998-99 231.20 393.38 — 
			 1997-98 225.90 306.16 — 
			 1996-97 224.50 213.21 — 
			 1995-96 199.30 134.45 — 
			 1994-95 192.40 74.20 — 
			  Notes: 1. The increase in administration costs over 3 years from April '06 is as a result of the extra £120 million costs associated with the Operational Improvement Plan. 2. We are unable to provide figures for 1993-94, as audited accounts were not published for that year and as such the information is not available. 3. Information from 1994-95 to 2005-06 is sourced from the Child Support Agency's published Annual Report and Accounts, and differ slightly from the published QSS which uses monthly figures, not subjected to yea-end adjustment. 4. In 2005-06, following national Audit Office advice, the Agency's accounting boundaries were changed to include Child Support Reform Programme costs in the Agency's annual accounts. The 2005-06 accounts and the 2004-05 comparatives were changed accordingly. In line with this policy the table below includes Child Support Reform costs from 1999-00. 5. The 2006-07 net administration costs and maintenance collections may be subject to change and will be confirmed when the audited accounts are published in July 2007. 6. The 2007-08 estimate for maintenance collections is consistent with the published Agency target to collect or arrange £970 million of maintenance outcomes. The residual £310 million in maintenance will be delivered via private arrangements outside of the Agency's collection service. 7. Total maintenance collected and arranged from 1994 to 2003 does not include maintenance direct. 8. Maintenance Direct figures are sourced from Table 19.5 of the Quarterly Statistical Supplement. Maintenance Direct information is only available from April 2003 onwards. 9. The amount of maintenance received is that collected via the CSA collection service. This includes both clerical and system payments. 10. Monthly amounts of maintenance collected will not sum to the financial year figures published in the Annual Accounts as they do not include end year adjustments. 11. The value of Maintenance Direct arrangements in place shows the value of the assessments that the Agency has made i.e. the recommended amount to be paid to the Parent With Care by the non-resident parent. This value is an estimate because it is not possible to calculate, for every day of the year, the value of Maintenance Direct arrangements in place at that point in time. However, it is possible to calculate the value of weekly Maintenance Direct arrangements in place at the end of each month and derive a full monthly estimate from that. 12. Money relating to Maintenance Direct arrangements is not collected directly by the Agency. As such, the arrangement in place is the best estimate of the money being paid by the Non-Resident Parent. 13. Figures are rounded to the nearest £0.1 million.

Children Support Agency: Manpower

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total staff numbers at the Child Support Agency were in each quarter since 1997; what he expects the total staff numbers at the agency to be in each quarter to 2010; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to an earlier response given to his Parliamentary Question 141934 and 141935, published in Hansard on 21 June 2007,  Official Report, column 2216W.

Children: Maintenance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what definition the Child Support Agency uses of unfair and inappropriate when it decides not to recover debt owed by a non-resident parent.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 26 June 2007:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what definition the Child Support Agency uses of unfair and inappropriate when it decides not to recover debt owed by a non-resident parent.
	The 1991 Child Support Act, (Section 29) gives the Agency a discretionary power in the collection of child support maintenance, although the Agency does not have the power to write off debt owed by non-resident parents. In cases where the Agency decides not to recover debt the Agency must show that this decision is reasonable (rather than inappropriate or unfair) taking into account the circumstances of each case.
	The Agency has issued guidance, for cases where there are exceptional circumstances and where the Agency would consider not collecting debt. The circumstances are not proscribed but do include, for example, terminal illness or death of a non-resident parent, parent with care or qualifying child, cases where the non-resident parent is in prison, hospital or residential care or where the parentage of the qualifying child is under dispute.
	Unless there is a good reason not to do so, every effort will be made to ensure the non-resident parent fulfills their duty to pay child maintenance.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Children: Maintenance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the proportion of the £3.5 billion debt owed to parents with care which was due to official delay or error.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 26 June 2007:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the proportion of the £3.5 billion debt owed to Parents with Care which was due to official delay or error.
	The Agency is unable to identify how much, if any, of the gross debt balance of £3.5 billion has been caused by official delay in processing a maintenance application.
	In addition, if an official error is subsequently identified in a non-resident parent's assessment, any outstanding debt is reassessed and adjusted as necessary.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Children: Maintenance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many parents with care were affected by a fully or partially non-compliant non-resident parent in each year since 1997.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 26 June 2007:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many parents with care were affected by either a fully or partially non compliant non resident parent in each year since 1997.
	The information that you have requested is only available in respect of cases rather than parents with care, a parent with care or non-resident parent may have more than one case. Information on fully and partially non-compliant cases is set out in the attached table.
	The first year of the Operational Improvement Plan focused on the reduction of the Agency's uncleared applications. The Agency has substantially reduced the number of uncleared applications, which are at their lowest level since comparable records began in May 1999. The second year of the Operational Improvement Plan, will focus on Enforcement which will include greater focus on improving case compliance.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.
	
		
			  The volumes of nil and partially compliant cases with a positive liability: 1997 to 2007 
			  Quarter ending  Nil compliant  Partial compliant 
			 February 1997 115,500 57,600 
			 February 1998 116,100 63,100 
			 February 1999 137,000 78,000 
			 February 2000 144,100 82,100 
			 February 2001 131,600 85,700 
			 February 2002 119,600 77,400 
			 March 2003 107,400 88,900 
			 March 2004 123,200 86,900 
			 March 2005 145,200 98,500 
			 March 2006 148,900 129,000 
			 March 2007 170,600 142,400 
			  Notes: 1. Compliance of a case is measured over a three month period. If a case was open and classed as a collection service case at the end of the period, and within the period money was charged on the case but no money was collected, then the case is classed as nil compliant. If some, but not all, of the money charged was collected via the collection service, then the case is classed as partially compliant. If all of the money charged was collected via the collection service, then the case is classed as fully compliant. 2. Data as at end of March has been used from 2003 onwards. Data as at end of February has been used prior to this, as information for March is unavailable. 3. Volumes are rounded to the nearest 100.

Children: Maintenance

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many deductions from earnings orders were  (a) applied for and  (b) successfully implemented by the Child Support Agency in each month since March 2003.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 25 June 2007
	The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Jobcentres: Chard

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will assess the environmental impact of closing the jobcentre in Chard; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves, dated 26 June 2007:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the environmental impact resulting from the proposed closure of Chard Jobcentre. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to Lesley Strathie as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus. I am replying on her behalf as Acting Chief Executive.
	No specific environmental impact assessment has been undertaken. However the decision to consider Chard for potential closure has taken account of the likely additional travel requirements for both customers and staff. Consideration will be given to postal arrangements for customers who may experience particular difficulty with any future travel requirements.
	We are continuing to develop our nationwide network of Jobcentres, and to review and improve our services. Advances in technology and the increased availability of Contact Centre facilities mean that increasing numbers of customers, including employers, access our services via the Internet or telephone. This will result in a positive environmental impact as the necessity to travel to attend our offices is reduced.
	I hope this is helpful.

New Deal Schemes

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have been on the  (a) New Deal for young people,  (b) New Deal 25 plus,  (c) New Deal 50 plus,  (d) New Deal for disabled people and  (e) New Deal for lone parents (i) once, (ii) twice, (iii) three times, (iv) four times, (v) five times, (vi) six times, (vii) seven times, (viii) eight times, (ix) nine times and (x) 10 times.

Jim Murphy: The information is in the following table.
	
		
			  New Deal 
			   Number of times participants have started 
			   Once only  T wice  Three times  Four times  Five times  Six times  Seven times  Eight times  Nine times  Ten times 
			 New Deal for Young People 847,740 231,260 72,840 19,360 3,580 390 30 0 0 0 
			 New Deal 25plus 490,190 129,970 45,330 14,920 3,620 500 40 10 0 0 
			 New Deal 50plus 79,330 1,570 40 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 New Deal for Disabled People 216,560 21,680 3,340 630 120 30 10 0   
			 New Deal for Lone Parents 516,950 159,270 49,780 15,520 4,580 1,410 380 110 30 10 
			  Notes:  1 Latest available information on starts to New Deal is to February 2007.  2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.  3. Programme start dates are: New Deal for Young People: January 1998; New Deal 25 plus: July 1998; New Deal for Lone Parents: October 1998; New Deal for Partners: April 1999; New Deal 50 plus: April 2000; New Deal for Disabled People: July 2001.  4. Data for starts to New Deal 50 plus is only available from January 2004.   Source:  New Deal Evaluation Database, Information Directorate, Department for Work and Pensions.

Pensions: Advisory Services

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many home visits have been carried out by the Pension Service in each year since 1997, broken down by type of visit and local area.

James Purnell: The information that is available for the area of East Sussex is in the following table. I will write to the hon. Member with information on the remaining areas and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
	
		
			  Home visits carried out by the Pension Service 
			   Nationally  East Sussex 
			 2004-05 549,369 — 
			 2005-06 954,359 — 
			 2006-07 897,702 9,687 
			  Notes: 1. All visits are 'Holistic Visits' so whatever the reason for referral a full benefit entitlement check is undertaken. 2. The Pension Service Local Service was created in April 2004. 3. There are occasions when a follow up visit is requested by the pension centre to clarify some aspects of the application; however these are not recorded separately. 4. The number of visits at a cluster level is held on the Local Service System (LSS). The East Sussex cluster figures for the years 2004-05 and 2005-06 are not available because of data protection issues which means customer data 18 months from the date the referral is cleared.  Source Local Service Management Information.

Pensions: Financial Assistance Scheme

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures his Department has taken in conjunction with the financial assistance scheme (FAS) to raise the profile of the FAS among members of occupational schemes that come under its remit.

James Purnell: Since the inception of the financial assistance scheme (FAS), the main focus of our communications has been aimed at trustees and administrators in order to encourage them to apply for FAS and to supply the member data needed to make payments.
	We currently provide information for members via our website at www.dwp.gov.uk/fas and we have worked with trustees on a scheme specific basis to provide information for their updates to members about the progress of the winding up.
	We recognise the need to provide more clarity to members about the nature of FAS benefits, how they work and when they can expect payments. Lord McKenzie, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Lords) announced in the House on 6 June, that we are introducing arrangements so that, rather that relying on trustees to make applications on their behalf, individual scheme members who believe that they are eligible for payment can advise the FAS operational unit direct, which will then contact the scheme trustees to seek to arrange a payment.

Personal Accounts

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether  (a) ministers,  (b) special advisers and  (c) officials in his Department briefed Financial Times journalists on 13 June 2007 about the Government's plans on personal accounts; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: No  Financial Times journalists were briefed on 13 June 2007. There was regular communication between Ministers, special advisers and officials and our stakeholders, including journalists and other political parties, in the run up to the publication of our proposals on personal accounts.

Adoption: Foster Care

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of  (a) delays caused in adoption to fostered children going through the court process without a care order under section 31 of the Children's Act 1989 and  (b) the disruption in the care provided to such children caused by such delays; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the impact of a child not being subject to a care order under section 31 of the Children's Act 1989 on the adoption process; and if he will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Government's view is that delays in relation to the adoption of a child, whether or not the child is also the subject of care proceedings, is likely to be damaging and prejudicial to his/her welfare, to the extent that it may contribute to disruption. This is the case whether it arises from delays in processes that are the responsibility of local authorities, such as the operation of adoption panels, or those that arise in the family courts.

Children in Care: Greater London

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children were forcibly removed from their parents by social services in each London borough in each of the last five years.

Parmjit Dhanda: It would not be possible for local authority social services departments to forcibly remove a child of any age into their care in circumstances where parents do not consent to this. While social services departments and the police have powers to obtain emergency orders so that they can act to immediately protect a child, the Children Act 1989 does not permit local authorities to remove children from the care of their parents without referring the matter to a Court.
	The number of children who were taken into care during the years ending 31 March 2002 to 2006 is shown in the following table.
	'Children taken into care' are children who started to be looked after under the following legal statuses: interim or full care orders, and police protection or emergency protection or child assessment orders. They exclude children freed for adoption or for whom a placement order was granted, they exclude children under voluntary accommodation and they also exclude children under youth justice legal statuses.
	
		
			  Looked after children taken into care during the years ending 31 March 2002 to 2006( 1,2,3,4,5,6,7) 
			  Number 
			  ( 3) 2002 ( 3) 2003 ( 2) 2004 ( 2) 2005 ( 2) 2006 
			  England 7,400 8,100 7,500 7,700 7,600 
			   
			  London 1,310 1,740 1,540 1,550 1,570 
			  Inner London 660 920 860 790 810 
			 Camden 85 95 85 60 75 
			 City of London 0 0 0 0 — 
			 Hackney 20 45 70 65 45 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 50 70 40 35 45 
			 Haringey 75 120 100 70 90 
			 Islington 50 45 55 45 60 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 35 30 45 30 30 
			 Lambeth 50 45 65 80 65 
			 Lewisham 40 65 85 80 65 
			 Newham 75 140 85 60 100 
			 Southwark 70 60 75 90 85 
			 Tower Hamlets 45 40 60 85 75 
			 Wandsworth 30 70 60 50 35 
			 Westminster 35 95 40 40 45 
			   
			  Outer London 650 820 680 770 760 
			 Barking and Dagenham 45 80 55 60 40 
			 Barnet 45 80 65 60 55 
			 Bexley 40 15 10 25 25 
			 Brent 40 50 65 55 70 
			 Bromley 30 50 55 35 20 
			 Croydon 25 45 30 50 40 
			 Ealing 45 70 55 75 70 
			 Enfield 45 75 40 60 45 
			 Greenwich 95 75 65 70 85 
			 Harrow 10 20 20 30 15 
			 Havering 5 20 20 20 35 
			 Hillingdon 15 20 30 40 55 
			 Hounslow 45 55 60 50 85 
			 Kingston Upon Thames 10 5 10 15 10 
			 Merton 40 35 15 30 15 
			 Redbridge 35 30 15 15 20 
			 Richmond Upon Thames 5 15 10 15 10 
			 Sutton 15 10 10 35 15 
			 Waltham Forest 50 70 40 30 50 
			 (1 )Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short term placements. (2 )Figures are taken from the SSDA903 return which in 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 covered all looked after children. (3 )Figures are taken from the SSDA903 one-third sample survey. (4 )Only the first occasion on which a child was taken into care in the year has been counted. (5 )"Children taken into care" are children who started to be looked after under the following legal statuses: interim or full care orders, and police protection or emergency protection or child assessment orders. They exclude children freed for adoption or for whom a placement order was granted, they exclude children under voluntary accommodation and they also exclude children under youth justice legal statuses. (6 )Historical figures may differ from older publications. This is mainly due to the implementation of amendments sent by some local authorities after the publication date of previous materials. (7 )To maintain the confidentiality of each individual child, data at national level are rounded to the nearest 100 if they exceed 1,000 or to the nearest 10 otherwise. At local authority level, data are rounded to the nearest 5 and at region level, to the nearest 10. Where the number was 5 or less (other than 0) this has been suppressed and replaced with a hyphen (-).

Children: Protection

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent representations he has received on the ability of sex offenders in the European Union to move between countries and take up employment with children.

Joan Ryan: I have been asked to reply 
	as the Home Office is leading UK negotiations within the EU to enhance the contents and format of the criminal records which are exchanged.
	I refer the hon. member to the reply I gave in response to her question on 19 June 2007,  Official Report, column 1781W.
	There have been no representations on the ability of sex offenders in the European Union to move between countries and take up employment with children to the Home Office.

Departments: Delivery Unit

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 4 June 2007,  Official Report, column 117W, on departments: Delivery Unit, what the  (a) start date and  (b) end date was of each review; and on what date a final report was produced for each.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department does not collect this information centrally.

GCE A Level

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many and what percentage of pupils from  (a) independent,  (b) maintained and  (c) grammar schools received a grade A in two or more of mathematics, further mathematics, physics, chemistry, French, German and Spanish A-levels in the latest year for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many and what percentage of pupils from  (a) independent,  (b) maintained and  (c) grammar schools received three or more A grades at A level in the latest year for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Home Education: Finance

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to fund and support children receiving home education.

Jim Knight: The Government believes that school is the best educational setting for most children. However, we respect the right of parents to choose education at home for their children. There is no Government funding available to support home education, nor any plans to change current arrangements. On 8 May we published draft guidelines for consultation which set out how local authorities can best support home educating parents.

Pupils: Intimidation

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will bring forward plans to carry out research to assess best practice in  (a) preventing and changing bullying behaviour and  (b) supporting those being bullied in schools.

Jim Knight: As a result of the recent Education and Skills Select Committee enquiry into bullying, and subsequent report, and an independent evaluation of the Department's work with the Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA), the Department is in the process of assessing its overall strategy of work to identify upcoming priorities and will shortly be competitively tendering for elements of work to be carried out in the next financial year. One of these elements will be research into bullying. This will look at what strategies are most effective in tackling bullying.
	The Department currently commissions Goldsmiths College London, through the ABA, to provide research aligned with policy needs. In the last financial year, the projects undertaken on behalf of the Department included reviews of disability and bullying and on bullying in the community. Research projects this year will look at how schools can best support young people displaying bullying behaviours; young people at risk of anti-social behaviour; and bullying of looked-after children. The Department has also undertaken research with young people on the subject of cyberbullying to inform and develop key, relevant messages for our planned digital information campaign.

Pupils: Intimidation

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will bring forward plans to audit how different schools across the country respond to bullying in schools.

Jim Knight: The Department currently has no plans to collect statistical data from schools or conduct a formal audit on how schools respond to bullying. As stated in the Department's recent response to the Education and Skills Select Committee report on bullying, there are logistical difficulties involved in asking schools to record incidents of bullying and their responses to incidents. In particular, there are issues around consistency of definition and how bullying might be reported if it continues over a significant period of time. There is also a question of how we might interpret an increase in reported incidents, which might occur as the result of an improved anti-bullying policy and new focus on openness. These complications could lead to more bureaucracy and greater workload for schools.
	The Department will continue to recommend in its revised anti-bullying guidance that schools record incidents of bullying and report the statistics to their local authority. The guidance will further advise that the LA should analyse the information gathered from schools to identify any issues of particular concern. This will enable the authority to be better informed in the development of appropriate strategies to tackle bullying across its area. The data will also enable LAs to support and challenge schools in their duties to promote the welfare of pupils.
	In addition, the forthcoming "Tellus 2" survey should give us more comprehensive data on young people's experiences of bullying in schools. It will be an annual survey (starting this year), covering all LAs. Data will be considered by Ofsted in their annual performance assessment (APA) of each LA's services, and could lead to Ofsted looking more closely at anti-bullying practices in a particular authority.
	We are currently looking at how we might use data derived from the survey to inform future policy development. We are also working with the National Strategies to undertake some localised auditing of how schools deal with bullying. The National Strategies are identifying secondary schools with weak or ineffective anti-bullying policies and practice. Regional advisers and local authority consultants will provide support and challenge to these schools, working with them to embed good practice, as well as development of appropriate intervention strategies at both staff and pupil level. Progress on this work will be monitored and reported to the Department on a regular basis.

Schools: Disability Aids

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many text books are available in electronic form to enable schools to convert them to Braille; and what plans he has to make more text books available to schools in electronic form;
	(2)  what plans he has to make sheet music printed in Braille available in schools.

Parmjit Dhanda: Part 4 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 requires schools and local authorities to plan to improve access to the curriculum and written materials for disabled pupils over time. This includes all National Curriculum taught subjects, such as music.
	With regard to the availability of text books and materials in electronic format for schools, I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 19 March 2007,  Official Report, column 721W, to the hon. Member for West Ham (Lyn Brown).

Schools: Sports

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was spent on  (a) the provision of sport equipment,  (b) the training of teachers in sports-related activities and  (c) the recruitment of coaches to provide sports lessons in (i) primary schools and (ii) secondary schools in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: Data relating to the amount of money which schools spend on sports equipment and the recruitment of coaches to provide sports lessons in schools is not collected centrally.
	The PE and school sport professional development programme, part of the National School Sport Strategy, has been running since 2003 and aims to raise the quality of teaching and learning in PE and school sport for all pupils. Over 156,000 training places have been taken up on the programme since it began. Funding for the five years that the professional development programme has been running is as follows:
	
		
			   Programme funding (£) 
			 2003/04 2,000,000 
			 2004/05 6,000,000 
			 2005/06 10,000,000 
			 2006/07 3,100,000 
			 2007/08 3,000,000

Anti-terrorism Control Orders: Biometrics

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date he became aware that individuals subject to control orders cannot have their fingerprints and DNA taken by the police.

Tony McNulty: It is inaccurate to say the police cannot take fingerprints or DNA from individuals on control orders. Section 1 (3) of the Prevention of Terrorism Act allows for the imposition of any obligations that the Secretary of State or the court considers necessary for purposes connected with preventing or restricting involvement by that individual in terrorism-related activity. The Government could therefore make the provision of fingerprints or DNA an obligation under a control order, if it was considered necessary and proportionate to do so. Moreover, powers to take fingerprints are governed by other legislation, such as PACE. If, for example, an individual committed an offence while subject to a control order, fingerprints and DNA could be taken in the usual way.
	The proposal for the forthcoming Counter-Terrorism Bill is to provide equivalent powers after a control order is served as currently apply when arrests are made under the Terrorism Act 2000 or the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. This will provide the same police powers to retain, store and use the DMA and fingerprints of individuals on control orders and will mean that the procedures and safeguards that generally apply, also apply in control order cases.

Asylum

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 28 February 2007,  Official Report, column 1351W, on asylum, when he expects to be able to say how many asylum seekers will be dispersed and to which boroughs.

Liam Byrne: In reply to the hon. Member of 28 February 2007,  Official Report, column 1351W, I advised that a review of cases would be undertaken to determine whether there were circumstances which required the continued provision of accommodation in London.
	There are approximately 2,000(1) cases supported in the London area under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. Reviews are now being undertaken of each of these cases to determine where they had their original support provided and if they have any special reason for remaining in London. Our current intention is to complete the review of each case by the 31 October 2007. It will only be after these reviews have been completed that we will be able to quantify the number of moves and to which local authorities they will be dispersed.
	(1) This information is based on internal management information, and as such, is not published within the official statistics. Information is provisional and subject to change.

Bicycles: Theft

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were  (a) prosecuted and  (b) sentenced for bicycle thefts in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: Data extracted from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform showing the number of people proceeded against and sentenced for theft of a pedal cycle in England and Wales from 2001 to 2005 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of persons prosecuted at magistrates' courts and sentenced at all courts for bicycle theft, England and Wales, 2001 to 2005( 1, 2) 
			   Proceeded against  Sentenced 
			 2001 1,349 809 
			 2002 1,262 799 
			 2003 1,112 678 
			 2004 1,011 691 
			 2005 1,152 861 
			 (1 )These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: RDS-OCJR, Office For Criminal Justice Reform

Demonstrations: Whitehall

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  which organisations applied to mount protests in Whitehall on the afternoon of 15 June 2007; when the applications were  (a) made and  (b) approved; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many  (a) Metropolitan and  (b) British Transport Police officers were deployed to police the protests in Whitehall on 15 June 2007; what operational instructions they were given to assist the public in accessing Whitehall and public transport; and what comments and complaints by members of the public were noted by police officers during the operation;
	(3)  when Transport for London was informed of the protests taking place in Whitehall on 15 June; and what operational instructions or guidance were given to Transport for London ahead of the organised protests in order to minimise disruption to the travelling public;
	(4)  what assessment he has made of the level of disruption to traffic, public transport and the flow of pedestrians during the protests in Whitehall on the afternoon of 15 June 2007;
	(5)  what monitoring was undertaken of the individual participants in the protests held on 15 June in Whitehall; what assessment he has made of the nature of the protest placards in terms of relevant statutory restrictions on inciteful language; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The policing of demonstrations in Whitehall is an operational matter for the Commissioner of the Police of the Metropolis. I have asked the Metropolitan police to collage the information requested by the hon. Gentleman. I shall write to the hon. Gentleman when that information is available.

Departments: Pay

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff in his Department received bonus payments in each of the last five years for which information is available; what proportion of the total work force they represented; what the total amount of bonuses paid was; what the largest single payment was; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Where it is available, the information requested is recorded in the following table.
	
		
			   Amount paid (£)  Number paid  Total staff (headcount)  Percentage of total work force  Single highest payment (£) 
			 2002-03 2,067,878 3,388 18,190 18.6 n/a 
			 2003-04 2,919,953 4,082 20,994 19.4 n/a 
			 2004-05 3,459,397 4,710 24,081 19.6 15,000 
			 2005-06 3,612,916 5,014 25,343 19.8 15,000 
			 n/a = Not available. 
		
	
	The information provided is subject to limitations. Comprehensive data for 2001-02 are not available or can be provided only at disproportionate cost. Data for appraisal-related bonus payments are included only for Home Office HQ and Border and Immigration Agency (BIA). Data for the public sector Prison Service are excluded and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Identity and Passport Agency (IPS) does not run an appraisal-related bonus scheme. Data recorded for performance appraisal payments relates to the previous reporting year and not the financial year in which the bonuses themselves were paid.
	Data for special bonus payments are included only for the senior civil service (for the whole Department and its agencies) and IPS for 2004-05 and 2005-06 for certain bonuses where information is available. Staffing data cover those in Home Office HQ, BIA and all senior civil servants in the Department and its agencies. For 2004-05 and 2005-06, IPS staff are included. Information for 2006-07 is currently unavailable: bonuses relating to this period will be paid with the 2007 pay award later in the year.
	The highest payments in each year were made to the senior civil service following recommendations by the independent Senior Salaries Review Body. Figures cannot be provided for 2002-03 and 2003-04 as they represented the highest paid amount to an individual and it is not departmental practice to provide information that could be attributed to individual members of staff.
	Within the Home Office and its agencies there are separate arrangements for awarding bonuses. Staff below the senior civil service may receive annual, appraisal-related awards where their objectives were exceeded and overall effectiveness was significantly above the standards agreed for the post. Examples include demonstrating the ability and willingness to take on new and additional work or consistently exceeding key objectives that have been set. Special bonuses will be awarded for exceptional, specific work such as delivering key tasks in particularly challenging and demanding circumstances.
	Senior civil service bonuses reward, provide incentives for, in-year delivery of key results. Senior civil servants can be awarded bonuses as set out in the Senior Salaries Review Body report No. 62.

Departments: Travel

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department spent on first class travel in each year since 2004.

John Reid: The Department's accounting system does not hold information on expenditure on 1st class travel separately. A complete run of such information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Department expects all official travel to be carried out by the most efficient and economic means available, taking into account the cost of travel and subsistence, savings in official time, management benefit, and the needs of staff with disabilities.

Entry Clearances

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for indefinite leave to remain received before 31 December 2006 have not yet been determined; what the principal reasons are for delay in such cases; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: In respect of cases involving unresolved asylum claims, in accordance with information provided to the Home Affairs Committee on 19 February 2007 by the chief executive of the Border and Immigration Agency, periodic progress updates will be provided.
	In respect of non-asylum cases, as of 31 May 2007 there are about 17,600 outstanding non-asylum indefinite leave to remain applications that were received in the Border and Immigration Agency prior to 31 December 2006. These applications include those submitted under a range of immigration categories.
	On the whole, these cases are not straightforward and require additional consideration. The aforementioned data is not provided under National Statistics protocols. It has been derived from local management information and is therefore provisional and subject to change.

Hunting

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what his policy is on the enforcement of the Hunting Act 2004;
	(2)  what recent meetings he has held with  (a) Chief Police Officers,  (b) the Secretary of State for Justice,  (c) the Crown Prosecution Service and  (d) others on the enforcement of the Hunting Act 2004.

Vernon Coaker: The Government are fully committed to enforcing the hunting ban. The Hunting Act is discussed as appropriate in meetings which the Home Office has with the police, prosecuting authorities, other government departments and other interested stakeholders.

Offenders: Deportation

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals were successfully deported due to committal of a criminal offence in the UK following completion of their prison term in each of the last five years.

John Reid: On 14 June the chief executive of the Border and Immigration Agency wrote to the Home Affairs Committee to provide the most recent information available on the deportation of foreign national prisoners. In this letter the director reported that 2784 foreign national prisoners were deported or removed in the financial year 2006-07. A copy of this letter is available from the Library of the House.
	Statistics on the deportation of foreign nationals were last published in 2002. This data is available through the Home Office's Research Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.archive2.official-documents.co.uk/document/cm60/6053/6053.htm.
	Published information on persons removed as a result of deportation action has not been available from 2003 onwards due to data quality issues. The Border and Immigration Agency is putting in place new systems to improve its data collection systems for the future in this area.

Off-Road Vehicles (Registration) Bill

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with the Association of Chief Police Officers on the implementation of the Off-Road Vehicles (Registration) Bill if enacted in its current form;
	(2)  if he will make an assessment of the likely implications for police forces of implementation of the Off-Road Vehicles (Registration) Bill if enacted in its current form; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Officials in my Department have discussed the Off-Road Vehicles (Registration) Bill, with colleagues in ACPO as well as other Government Departments. In particular, Home Office discussions have focused on any potential impact to the police following implementation if enacted in its current form.
	It is difficult to say with great certainty what impact such a Bill would have in practice, as an assessment of non-compliance has not been made. However initial estimates would suggest that additional burdens on the police would be inevitable and costly. ACPO have estimated that at a minimum for ad-hoc enforcement which does not include costs to the Crown Prosecution Service or HMCS, could be in the region of £50 million over three years, based on investigating approximately 300,000 vehicles a year. This does not include the costs of mounting an enforcement operation, but is based on the time it would take an officer to deal with the offence, such as dealing with the offender, arranging recovery of the vehicle and supervising the event. It also includes any necessary paperwork and officer time to prepare for court if that is applicable.
	Without a full and proper assessment of a registration scheme and its likely impact on the police and given that there is a range of existing legislation available to the police to deal with this nuisance which is effective and being used, the Home Office strongly opposes the introduction of this particular Private Members' Bill.

Police: Manpower

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) male and  (b) female chief constables there are in England and Wales; what steps he is taking to encourage greater numbers of female chief constables in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: There are currently 39 male and five female chief constables in England and Wales. The data currently available is for ACPO ranks and has previously been published in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin, Police Service Strength in England and Wales 31 March 2006 (13/06), which is available in the Library of the House and can be downloaded from:
	www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/hosb1306.pdf
	Table 4 in the bulletin contains the number of police officers in each force in England and Wales broken down by gender and rank. Promoting policing equality and diversity is a matter for the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) working with the police service. I understand from the NPIA Chief Executive that there are a number of programmes geared to encouraging progression of staff within ACPO ranks including, HPDS ( High Potential Development Scheme) and NSCAS ( National Senior Careers Advisory Scheme).

Police: Road Traffic Control

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answers of  (a) 11 June 2007,  Official Report, column 503 and  (b) 6 June 2007,  Official Report, column 618W, on the police: road traffic control, how many dedicated traffic police officers there are in England and Wales.

Vernon Coaker: The numbers of dedicated traffic police officers are not collected centrally.
	The available data are the numbers of full-time equivalent police officers primarily employed in the function 'traffic'. On this basis, there were 6,511 officers in post on 31 March 2006.
	A corresponding figure for 31 March 2007 will be available when the police personnel statistics for 2006-07 are published on 26 July.

Sexual Offences: Detection Rates

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the detection rate was for  (a) rape and  (b) other sexual offences in each police force area in England and Wales in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is given in the tables.
	Data are available for 1997 calendar year and from 1998-99 in financial years. This followed a revision to the counting rules for recorded crime and the expanded coverage which came into effect on 1 April 1998. The figures were also affected by the revised detections guidance issued in April 1999 which formalised detection procedures, placing a greater emphasis on the evidential basis on which detections can be claimed. They were also affected by the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002, which required the police to record a crime unless there was
	"no credible evidence to the contrary".
	The Sexual Offences Act 2003 in May 2004 also altered the definition and coverage of sexual offences, in particular, indecent exposure is now classified as a sexual offence. All these changes mean that detection rates are not comparable over this time period.
	The existing statistical evidence suggests that both the changes to detections guidance and the introduction of NCRS had a marked impact in reducing detection rates for sexual offences since 1997. The Home Office is currently researching in detail recent changes in detection rates in rape cases in England and Wales, including variation between forces. This is expected to be published shortly.
	New performance management arrangements have been introduced for the police and CPS on the investigation and prosecution of rape. The Home Office and Association of Chief Police Officers are also providing operational support to police forces on the implementation of recommendations from Without Consent, the rape inspection published in January 2007.
	
		
			  Table 1: Detection rates( 1)  for rape offences by police force area 
			  Police force area  1997  1998-99  1999-2000( 3)  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Avon and Somerset 86 74 62 43 27 22 21 18 22 
			 Bedfordshire 70 56 43 34 25 29 21 23 23 
			 Cambridgeshire 79 62 56 50 46 29 15 21 22 
			 Cheshire 100 98 87 86 81 48 29 28 28 
			 Cleveland 89 91 73 59 65 41 31 22 38 
			 Cumbria 97 93 91 70 74 64 30 30 35 
			 Derbyshire 93 73 52 38 39 35 33 31 30 
			 Devon and Cornwall 92 89 96 77 49 30 19 26 18 
			 Dorset 94 78 50 36 39 25 17 17 17 
			 Durham 93 95 85 91 n/a 68 71 60 26 
			 Dyfed-Powys 95 91 89 109 76 91 25 35 18 
			 Essex 79 65 64 50 33 32 29 27 25 
			 Gloucestershire 89 69 66 70 57 31 28 29 19 
			 Greater Manchester 85 74 64 58 55 46 32 30 31 
			 Gwent 100 91 92 98 93 80 78 52 40 
			 Hampshire 79 99 65 58 53 41 34 26 21 
			 Hertfordshire 88 96 78 66 62 50 50 38 41 
			 Humberside 65 58 33 37 33 23 20 22 23 
			 Kent 92 85 90 57 56 38 27 22 22 
			 Lancashire 91 83 79 53 47 52 35 37 35 
			 Leicestershire 72 43 37 37 n/a 26 28 23 19 
			 Lincolnshire 124 82 87 67 50 40 28 31 24 
			 London, City of 0 0 0 50 22 100 0 0 0 
			 Merseyside 90 78 69 66 53 47 43 35 24 
			 Metropolitan Police 58 32 28 24 27 29 33 25 36 
			 Norfolk 68 94 37 35 36 24 18 21 23 
			 Northamptonshire 96 82 95 70 64 53 37 32 33 
			 Northumbria 85 68 61 50 43 36 30 25 29 
			 North Wales 89 92 85 59 35 26 29 27 25 
			 North Yorkshire 87 105 62 73 59 43 41 41 34 
			 Nottinghamshire 83 55 46 51 36 34 27 36 27 
			 South Wales 99 93 88 91 90 62 53 60 29 
			 South Yorkshire 96 79 88 75 72 40 38 30 24 
			 Staffordshire 86 68 39 38 35 40 32 30 26 
			 Suffolk 74 73 29 36 30 30 26 21 25 
			 Surrey 56 48 45 28 42 32 35 26 32 
			 Sussex 80 55 47 34 35 26 24 15 21 
			 Thames Valley 90 59 52 26 32 27 18 24 22 
			 Warwickshire 79 79 55 52 30 27 19 25 19 
			 West Mercia 91 87 64 56 44 37 35 31 27 
			 West Midlands 77 68 59 53 45 41 32 25 29 
			 West Yorkshire 90 83 76 71 55 42 31 25 25 
			 Wiltshire 96 73 68 31 46 37 41 32 33 
			 n/a = Not available. (1) Offences detected in current year may have been initially recorded in an earlier year, so some percentages may exceed 100. (2) Expanded offence coverage and revised counting rules came into effect on 1 April 1998. (3) Revised detections guidance was implemented on 1 April 1999. (4) The data in this table takes account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years. (5) The Sexual Offences Act 2003, introduced in May 2004, altered the definition and coverage of sexual offences. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Detection( 1)  rates for other sexual offences (excluding rape) by police force area 
			  Police force area  1997  1998/99( 2)  1999/00( 3)  2000/01  2001/02  2002/03( 4)  2003/04  2004/05( 5)  2005/06 
			 Avon and Somerset 76 68 62 48 33 29 29 22 29 
			 Bedfordshire 70 54 55 57 45 44 29 41 31 
			 Cambridgeshire 71 67 74 60 51 38 32 30 31 
			 Cheshire 94 90 84 87 79 58 49 40 35 
			 Cleveland 77 78 85 81 85 69 60 51 47 
			 Cumbria 90 88 87 86 72 57 51 46 51 
			 Derbyshire 80 79 66 55 66 48 49 37 33 
			 Devon and Cornwall 84 87 90 82 62 48 39 33 33 
			 Dorset 82 75 67 58 53 47 33 31 35 
			 Durham 91 80 93 81 n/a 59 77 69 37 
			 Dyfed-Powys 94 96 95 93 95 91 52 46 48 
			 Essex 68 64 67 57 55 43 40 36 31 
			 Gloucestershire 80 69 72 67 64 42 38 35 34 
			 Greater Manchester 70 72 65 62 58 54 46 30 35 
			 Gwent 95 87 94 91 90 83 81 57 48 
			 Hampshire 79 102 76 66 62 59 44 36 31 
			 Hertfordshire 69 80 72 65 75 54 55 41 43 
			 Humberside 66 60 43 46 38 41 33 30 37 
			 Kent 85 80 78 59 59 49 43 29 32 
			 Lancashire 81 76 75 62 52 61 48 41 44 
			 Leicestershire 78 63 58 46 n/a 35 33 28 33 
			 Lincolnshire 124 84 78 73 68 33 40 41 38 
			 London, City of 74 59 40 38 67 45 35 44 45 
			 Merseyside 81 72 66 69 56 53 47 41 38 
			 Metropolitan Police 62 46 34 33 34 34 35 25 34 
			 Norfolk 91 82 72 51 50 37 46 38 68 
			 Northamptonshire 92 81 84 81 70 53 62 52 39 
			 Northumbria 71 68 58 58 52 51 49 35 47 
			 North Wales 90 93 90 67 58 38 45 42 46 
			 North Yorkshire 77 87 71 74 69 59 54 50 51 
			 Nottinghamshire 76 62 57 47 46 48 46 47 48 
			 South Wales 87 86 84 82 78 59 52 36 34 
			 South Yorkshire 82 84 78 77 67 51 53 38 35 
			 Staffordshire 80 68 37 40 39 55 52 41 36 
			 Suffolk 85 75 72 60 54 57 40 43 45 
			 Surrey 69 110 59 45 45 43 44 34 36 
			 Sussex 76 60 57 48 50 43 41 31 37 
			 Thames Valley 76 61 53 49 44 34 36 29 34 
			 Warwickshire 93 78 62 51 60 48 34 42 42 
			 West Mercia 82 79 69 61 51 49 50 41 48 
			 West Midlands 68 63 60 54 55 44 38 30 34 
			 West Yorkshire 84 74 80 73 67 55 39 32 28 
			 Wiltshire 84 87 68 40 52 42 42 37 41 
			 n/a = Not available. (1) Offences detected in current year may have been initially recorded in an earlier year, so some percentages may exceed 100. (2) Expanded offence coverage and revised counting rules came into effect on 1 April 1998. (3) Revised detections guidance was implemented on 1 April 1999. (4) The data in this table takes account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years. (5) The Sexual Offences Act 2003, introduced in May 2004, altered the definition and coverage of sexual offences. 
		
	
	—continued

Vehicle Number Plates

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of drivers falsely accused of motoring offences because of the fraudulent cloning of number plates in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  Department what estimate he has made of the number of drivers falsely accused of motoring offences due to inaccuracies in the automated number plate recognition database in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the number of motoring offences that the police have been unable to pursue due to inaccuracies in the automated number plate recognition database.

Vernon Coaker: It is not possible to estimate the number of drivers falsely accused of motoring offences because of the fraudulent cloning of number plates; the number of drivers falsely accused of motoring offences due to inaccuracies in automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) databases or the number of motoring offences that the police have been unable to pursue due to inaccuracies in the ANPR database as these figures are not collected centrally. ANPR is used as the starting point to investigate offences and is not in itself used to press charges or comment on prosecutions.

Vehicle Number Plates: Legal Opinion

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice he has received on the legality of automatic number plate recognition systems.

Tony McNulty: All data gathered by the police using automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) is covered by existing legislation. Home Office officials have been working closely with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) to ensure that information collected by ANPR technologies and retained by the police is cognisant of the relevant data protection legislation. The ACPO guidance is designed to ensure that the principles detailed in Part 1 of Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 are followed by all police forces.